Today we cover the Skyrealm, and the political/geographical hazards that occur there. I have been trying to learn how to make all my maps with computer programs, since I'm not a very good artist, and thought that would be the way to go. Alas, in the year 2014 there is still not an easy to use program that can make a wide variety of map types and make them well. So from here on out, I'm most likely going to be drawing most maps.
(If any of my players/readers know of a good program to use... let me know please. I've tried Campaign Cartographer and Dundjinni, with very limited success.)
Let us start with some basics, as I'm not a very good artist, my maps are not drawn to scale, or colored exceptionally well, but the idea should come across alright.
As far as the science goes, humans on earth can't live over 30,000 feet in the air. The pressure isn't right, the sun burns you while you're really cold, and your body's lungs can't pull enough oxygen out of the air to keep your body going. That isn't an issue on Artheria. Thanks to the reckoning, several portals to all sorts of places have opened up all over the place, and portals to the elemental plane of air have saturated the upper atmosphere with cleaner air than is found on the surface, and the general lack of cloud cover, since most islands are above or just in the clouds, allows plant life to flourish, which in turn supports animal and humanoid life of all kinds. Fresh drinking water can be hard to come by, while there are portals to the plane of water that continually dump water into the realm, there are often powerful creatures that live near such sources of pure water, keeping it under their own control. (Dragons or Storm Giants are relatively common owners of such portals.)
Overall, it is almost easier to live above the clouds of Artheria than the surface... and any monster that can fly has discovered that over the last 1000 years, and many have migrated up to this realm for that very reason.
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| (The Skyrealm, clicking it should make it bigger.) |
Let us start with the middle, the little black spot and swirly bits are actually a perpetual cyclone/hurricane weather event over the Maelstrom, in the center of the planet. (See this post for the surface map of Artheria.) The winds around this point are constantly over 100 miles per hour, lightning, rain, hail, sleet, all of it exists in this zone, and the weather doesn't just go down towards the surface, it is not uncommon for gravity distortions, wind, or portals in this area to cause the weather to occur in very different ways. The most intense weather on the planet is in the few hundred miles around the center of the Maelstrom. This extreme weather functions in the massive planet long 'strip' that is the anti-magic zone, which brings us to the next obvious hazard...
The Anti-Magic Zone is a 1000 miles wide and 3 miles 'thick' zone where magic can not function. This zone appeared after the reckoning, starting at the center of the maelstrom and slowly spreading to the massive planet wide zone that is currently is. In the center of the maelstrom, the zone goes all the way down to the surface, 45,000 feet down to the bottom of the ocean floor, making it, at that point, 1000 miles wide by 10 miles high. The highest peaks of Entrar and the Frozen Wastes breach into this anti-magic zone on the upper right and bottom left of the map. Traveling in this zone is incredibly hazardous, as airships and planes will at some point fail, 75% failing as soon as they cross the 'line' into the zone. The safest travel is on a flying mount, like a gryphon or hippogriph.
Moving back to the center of the map, directly above the center of the Maelstrom is Zain's Island.
Zain is an incredibly powerful goblin lich necromancer, and is one of the most powerful creatures on the planet. (Zain was a level 1 goblin necromancer that was part of a monstrous humanoid party I sent against my players that all this is based on when they were level 1-2 in the very first dungeon of this game, the 3 were not meant to live, it was Zain the goblin, Griff the ogre, and a hobgoblin that died... they managed to escape my players wrath though and altered the story line forever as my players never got the upper hand on them. Ever.)
Zain's island is probably the most menacing island fortress on Artheria, and no one, not even demi-gods, have succeeded in removing Zain from his throne in the last 1000 years. His island, which exists within the anti-magic zone and the insane weather of the Maelstrom, is very near two other menacing places, Zain's Tower, which is a 9 mile high tower made from earth, coral, and the severed arm of the Adamantine Colossus, the massive construct that brought about the reckoning 1000 years ago. The other menacing landmark right by zain's tower and his island is the Adamantine Colossus itself, which has been sitting in the middle of the Maelstrom for the last 1000 years, flashing colored lights out into space through the perpetual 'eye of the hurricane' that exists there. The sea, on the surface, is always in a cyclone in that area, making approach by ship or by flying stead nearly impossible, and magical means of traveling there simply do not function, as the anti-magic zone is at its strongest there.
All forces fear this area, and only the very bravest ever attempt an assault. Zain's power is unrivaled, for he possesses 3 incredibly powerful artifacts. The first is an orb of negative energy, which appears much like a dark colored crystal ball. Zain gained this artifact by besting my players at the time in an ancient gnome ruin, it amplified his powers enormously and took Zain from a fledgling wizard to a major player on the global stage.
Next he turned his long time bodyguard and companion, Griff the Ogre, (Ogre Fighter/Rogue/Assassin/Blackguard) into a curst undead creature, granting the ogre an immortal life and even greater power... and traveled the planes, and stole an immensely powerful blade, the Soul Reaver, from Vecna, the god of secrets, magic, and undeath. With these two artifacts, Zain was able to wrest the 3rd, and final artifact, the enormous Crystal of Negative energy, an over 40 foot tall crystal that seems to help control the nature of the planes themselves, from several competitors. With this artifact under Zain's control, his power became unrivaled. None on Artheria have breached the inner sanctum of Zain in nearly 1000 years, the last to do so were the heroes of the last campaign, that all this is based on, and two out of the 3 paid for it with their lives, Rolltun, the 'avatar' of Gruumsh/Lytana, who lives in the Bastion of Light a little over 1000 miles away, is the only living creature to have entered Zain's island.
Moving back to the center of the map, directly above the center of the Maelstrom is Zain's Island.
Zain is an incredibly powerful goblin lich necromancer, and is one of the most powerful creatures on the planet. (Zain was a level 1 goblin necromancer that was part of a monstrous humanoid party I sent against my players that all this is based on when they were level 1-2 in the very first dungeon of this game, the 3 were not meant to live, it was Zain the goblin, Griff the ogre, and a hobgoblin that died... they managed to escape my players wrath though and altered the story line forever as my players never got the upper hand on them. Ever.)
Zain's island is probably the most menacing island fortress on Artheria, and no one, not even demi-gods, have succeeded in removing Zain from his throne in the last 1000 years. His island, which exists within the anti-magic zone and the insane weather of the Maelstrom, is very near two other menacing places, Zain's Tower, which is a 9 mile high tower made from earth, coral, and the severed arm of the Adamantine Colossus, the massive construct that brought about the reckoning 1000 years ago. The other menacing landmark right by zain's tower and his island is the Adamantine Colossus itself, which has been sitting in the middle of the Maelstrom for the last 1000 years, flashing colored lights out into space through the perpetual 'eye of the hurricane' that exists there. The sea, on the surface, is always in a cyclone in that area, making approach by ship or by flying stead nearly impossible, and magical means of traveling there simply do not function, as the anti-magic zone is at its strongest there.
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| (The adamantine colossus is a creature of unknown origin, with powers that have never been beaten.) |
All forces fear this area, and only the very bravest ever attempt an assault. Zain's power is unrivaled, for he possesses 3 incredibly powerful artifacts. The first is an orb of negative energy, which appears much like a dark colored crystal ball. Zain gained this artifact by besting my players at the time in an ancient gnome ruin, it amplified his powers enormously and took Zain from a fledgling wizard to a major player on the global stage.
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| (Zain's Orb of Negative energy.) |
Next he turned his long time bodyguard and companion, Griff the Ogre, (Ogre Fighter/Rogue/Assassin/Blackguard) into a curst undead creature, granting the ogre an immortal life and even greater power... and traveled the planes, and stole an immensely powerful blade, the Soul Reaver, from Vecna, the god of secrets, magic, and undeath. With these two artifacts, Zain was able to wrest the 3rd, and final artifact, the enormous Crystal of Negative energy, an over 40 foot tall crystal that seems to help control the nature of the planes themselves, from several competitors. With this artifact under Zain's control, his power became unrivaled. None on Artheria have breached the inner sanctum of Zain in nearly 1000 years, the last to do so were the heroes of the last campaign, that all this is based on, and two out of the 3 paid for it with their lives, Rolltun, the 'avatar' of Gruumsh/Lytana, who lives in the Bastion of Light a little over 1000 miles away, is the only living creature to have entered Zain's island.
Many attempts have been made to reclaim the negative energy crystal, all have failed. Just getting to Zain's Island is an incredibly difficult task. Airships and planes can't make it because of the anti-magic zone, and only the mightiest flying creatures can brave the extreme weather of the Maelstrom, the average gryphon, hippogriph, and even adult dragon stands no chance against the hurricane force winds. For now, Zain's Island remains impervious... and his power continues to grow.
Now that we have spoken of Zain and the Negative Energy crystal, let us move on to Rolltun and the Positive Energy crystal. Rolltun is the last surviving player of the old game, and he is the hero of the elves, he holds the memories of Gruumsh before he became the god of the orcs, (He was an elf who fell from grace.) and is one of the mightiest beings on Artheria. He resides in The Bastion of Light, which hovers high above the Elf Lands, and houses the Positive Energy Crystal, which the elves have had control of on Artheria for eons. (This is the reason elves in my world live for thousands of years and all have the timeless body trait.)
Rolltun tends to stay in this area, protecting the preserved bodies of his friends, hoping to free their souls from Zain, and guarding the Positive Energy crystal. This general area, where Rolltun and the elves live, (Called the Noldrin Lihand on the map, or Floating Country in the common tongue.) is one of the most safest areas in the skyrealm.
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| (The Bastion of Light, and some of the Noldrin Lihand.) |
This area is made up of dozens of floating islands, several with permanent portals to various planes, some relatively safe, like the elemental plane of water, and others not at all, like Pandemonium. The elves, lyntanan orcs, and pegasus centaur that live in this area are constantly sending help to the surface, which is in much worse shape.
As far as the economy of the Noldrin Lihand, it is in large part based on exporting the freshest water in the sky realm, (the floating island with the twin waterfalls on the right side of the map.) and very well made goods of Elven and Orcish make. Getting to the 'Floating Country' is a bit more difficult, as it is mostly cut off from the rest of the world by the anti-magic zone, going around it is a very long process requiring you to fly around Grendar and the goblin government.
Which will move us on to Grendar. This land was once a gnome town called Gnomeweizen, (Like a Hefeweizen but Gnomish.) and was the starting point of the original campaign. The players failed horribly in protecting it from the goblins, and goblin army (Led by Darren Flamehair and Zain) conquered the town, and took control of the extensive underground ruins underneath. During the reckoning, the land started to shake, and Zain used his immense magical power to partially control the gravitational fluctuations to pull an absolutely massive hunk out of the ground, this continent was a full 40% of the old country of Mangderithon, (Where Contrador is located currently) from the earth, complete with many sets of ancient ruins and several smaller towns. This gave the goblins an enormous, isolated area to develop over time, and from here, Goblins developed their own magi-tek from the gnomish ruins, and built their massive 'trade fleet.' Which is the strongest air force on Artheria. Grendar is the largest, and most populated floating continent, housing over 700,000 creatures, the vast majority of that population goblin.
While the main continent itself is generally off limits to non-goblins, (merchants are the one exception to this rule, though there are many taxes levied specifically against outsiders, making it difficult to make a living trading with them.) connected by a massive bridge to the main continent is a smaller island that houses the Golden Mushroom Resort and Casino. (Yes, I'm pretty much ripping off Final Fantasy VII, I'll admit that.)
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| (Come! Spend your money!) |
Which brings us to the primary competition of the goblins, the Darithian Federation. This is the 2nd largest floating continent, and it was once the 2nd largest city in all of Mangderithon, and it was called Darith's Bay. It was torn from Mangderithon just like the goblin home was, though unlike Grendar, it didn't have an incredibly powerful wizard assisting anything. Half the city was destroyed in the reckoning, falling into the underdark as this half floated into the sky. The survivors, finding themselves now floating 40,000 feet above the ground, had to get inventive in order to survive. Luckily for them, 20% of the towns over 500,000 people are gnomes, and the technology and innovation of the gnomish magi-tek engineers have kept the people here thriving and successful for the last 1000 years. (The population is roughly 100,000 gnomes, 200,000 halflings, and 200,000 humans) Over the years, the need for more room as forced the townsfolk to chain in two nearby floating islands. One island just so happened to be incredibly mountainous, and had many natural caverns, this island is the source of the Federation's wealth, as they mine all kinds of precious metals and gems from the floating mountains. While Grendar and the Darithian Federation aren't officially at war, skirmishes and piracy abound between the two forces, any official military ships never fire on each other, but unmarked vessels are fair game.
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| (The Darithian Federation is a bustling floating city.) |
This brings us to the last two entries, the Sindarin Crag, and the Floating Glaciers. The Sindarin Crag is the highest floating island on the planet, the highest peaks actually exit the atmosphere and exist in the vacuum of space. There are a few castles and keeps that dot the mountains, no one knows who or what lives there, very few creatures can make it to this island, as it exists in the anti-magic zone.
The floating glaciers are exact;y as they sound... glaciers that float in the sky. There are more of them forming over time. Sometimes a glacier just rips out of the frozen wastes, sometimes snow and ice just coalesce into solid orbs and float in the sky. White dragons, frost elves, frost giants, ice elementals, and all manner of other life attempts to scratch out a living in the cold harsh environment. While there are some small settlements that trade, most creatures hunt, pillage, and grow exceptionally hardy plants in ice caves though for survival.
That concludes the general situation in the skyrealm. I look forward to airship navies battling it out.
“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
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